One key area where cloud innovation will impact our businesses and daily lives is in the virtual workplace. Citrix describes the virtual workplace as a "digital setup that allows professionals to use all applications, data, and services needed for work in a way that is hosted, operated, and managed in a cloud environment" and accessed through almost any kind of modern, end-user device.

The following are five benefits of adopting a cloud first strategy for a truly connected workplace:

Increased Speed

With today's pace of business it is critical for organizations to be able to adapt to changing market conditions such as mergers, acquisitions, and new business ventures. These demands require businesses to almost instantaneously create infrastructure to meet the needs of their end users and customers. The traditional model for IT provisioning and allocation, although successful and effective, has slowed growth for many. For many of our clients, leveraging Citrix Cloud has resulted in new and creative ways to quickly expand and contrast as the business dictates.

With cloud deployments, capacity and location planning are the cloud vendor's responsibility. This frees up customers and allows them to respond quickly to unforeseen business changes that may arise unexpectedly because operations are handled by the cloud vendors. When it comes to speed to market, traditional IT server provisioning can take up to 6-8 weeks. However, the cloud enables companies to accelerate the process to a matter of hours. For instance Citrix Cloud can be deployed, activated, and configured within hours and integrated with multiple Citrix workspace services.

Simplicity

IT complexity can be greatly reduced by centralizing app and desktop management and automating common tasks. A cloud first strategy frees up your technology team's time and budget by simplifying app, desktop, and data management. The right cloud service can also boost IT agility with shorter set-up time and an always up-to-date SaaS delivery model.

Citrix Cloud has shown that it reduces and many times eliminates the complexities of configuring a production-ready End User Computing environment. Using tools and techniques such as blueprints, automated tasks, power scaling, and intelligent health check features, organizations can simply make configuration decisions by easy to use wizard driven approaches. This simple approach dramatically reduces the time and effort IT organizations have to spend on setting up infrastructure to support the business initiatives.

Flexibility

The right cloud service will allow you to manage your apps and data on any hybrid- or multi-cloud infrastructure you choose. Whether you are pursuing a private, public, hybrid, or multi-cloud strategy, you have the flexibility to deploy across any infrastructure. Companies can scale services to fit their needs, customize applications, and access cloud services from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Security

According to SuccessFactors, security is actually increased when using cloud solutions due to strict ISO security standards that cloud providers must adhere to, in addition to the regular security audits. When it comes to file sharing, cloud service, such as Citrix ShareFile, offers companies different kinds of security measures, including encryption, audits and administrative settings, as well as malware and virus scans and remote wipe services for your mobile devices.

With Citrix Cloud organizations can be assured that no end-user data is stored within the cloud management plane. In addition, features such as mobile device policies and actions, SmartAccess® controls, and secure remote access significantly reduces the security risks by only providing end users with only the information they need at the time they need it. It can be contextually aware so when employees are accessing highly sensitive and confidential data from insecure devices or locations, enforcements can be automatically enabled to ensure that this data is not exposed. You'll have an integrated and flexible framework to secure your apps, data, and network, while at the same time protect your business.

As your organization sets new expectations for what "my office" means, look to the cloud to and harness technologies that inspire innovation and lead to better business outcomes. Stay tuned for my next blog post focusing on what to look for when selecting cloud-based file sharing solutions.